St. Louis Rams: Jeff Fisher speaks about Chris Long’s Leadership, E.J. Gaines Injury, and...just about everybody else

Jeff Fisher – Training Camp Post-Practice – August 4, 2015

(On his thoughts about getting DE Chris Long back)
"We expected that he would be back somewhere around this time period, and you know, he looked like he was okay. We’ll see how he is tomorrow."

(On what kind of leadership Long brings to the team)
"It’s not only what he does inside, in the locker room and the training room and the weight room, but I think the guys really look up to the things that he’s done off the field. You know, the water stuff that he’s doing in Africa and then the homeless piece that they did. So I think that he serves as just a great example for the young guys to take advantage of your opportunity and give back. So not only do they respect him for what he does on the field, but it’s also what he does off the field."

(On not having Long for 10 games last season and how much he thinks that hurt the defense last year)
"I think there was an effect. We lost some production. We figured…there was sacks that we missed, big plays that we missed late in games. The other side of that is (DL) Ethan (Westbrooks) got a chance to play. We played some of the younger guys. We know where they’re at. It’s really just good to have him back."

(On an update about CB E.J. Gaines)
"At this point no. We’re going to do some more tests. We’ll probably send him down and have him see Dr. (Robert) Anderson at this point, so we did make a move. We’ve got (CB) Brandon McGee that’s about a week away, so we needed some help. So we signed a corner (DB) (Trovon) Reed from Auburn and had to let (WR) Devon (Wylie) go. The hard part about camp, but we just want to make sure that we keep our corners legs’ fresh. Soon as I hear something about E.J., we’ll let you know."

(On CB Brandon McGee’s injury)
"Yeah, he’s dealing with a foot right now, so that’s getting better."

(On what he thinks about CB Janoris Jenkins growth on and off the field)
"We haven’t had any issues as far as he’s been here. He’s been a real pro. He’s gotten better and better each year. He understands the importance of the offseason. He understands the importance of the reps. He’s as good as I’ve been around playing through little things, minor injuries and things like that. He’s a gamer. He practices. He sits in the front of the room and he loves the game. So, I couldn’t say enough about him right now. He plays a tough position in this league and he plays it pretty well."

(On his early impressions of T Isaiah Battle)
"Like I said, he’s still behind. I haven’t looked at practice today. They got some supplemental pass rush stuff at the end so we’ll look at that, but he’s coming on. He’s talented, but he’s behind from a scheme standpoint. So understandably, he’s going to be a step slower at everything he does until he feels positive about his responsibility. But athletically he’s here because he has all of those traits. He’s long and he’s athletic. He lacks lower body strength right now. And we’re pushing him through that. We’ll see how he is in a couple of weeks and expect him to play quite a bit in preseason games"

(On QB Nick Foles)
"He had a great day today. It was fun to watch him. He’s cutting it loose and he’s starting to get more and more comfortable with the guys. You saw a lot of big plays to (TE) Jared (Cook), and (WR) Kenny (Britt) and, (WR) Tavon (Austin). He’s running the offense very well right now."

(On RB Todd Gurley’s injury status)
"This is going to be a process. It’s not going to be a day to day thing. We are looking at this long term process right now. By that when I say long term, I’m talking about let’s just go week to week and go through the preseason and we’ll see where we are when the season starts. But yeah he’s not had any setbacks and he’s getting walk-thru reps. He’s participating in individual. He’s doing all the meetings and he’s doing fine. If you would make it be his choice he would be out there right now. To a certain extent we kind of have to hold him back just to protect him."

(On the number of snaps Gurley needs in the preseason)
"Oh yeah, there’s no doubt about that. I can’t say whether he’s going to get preseason game snaps right now. He’s still a ways away. He’s making progress. But again, as we talked about a few days ago, our decision not to PUP him was to be able to get him the individual reps and to build his reps and get him on the practice field. Now in his case as a running back, practice reps, to me, would suffice. But it’s the number of reps and where he is and then we’ll make that decision as to when we play him."

(On WR Brian Quick looking outstanding in his recovery)
"Yeah, it was really a remarkable rehab process that he endured. There was some question as to whether or not he would ever come back. He’s back. He’s not quite there yet. We’re protecting him. But I would expect him to play in preseason games and go out and be productive. It’s really good to have him back. He was off to a great start last year."